All Korisliiga venues rated Part 3 : PeKa to ViVe
Part 3 of the Rating of all Korisliiga (men/women) venues from a photographers point of view, been getting some feedback on the first installment of the ratings – so let’s see how Part 3 will go down!! Been getting some feedback curtsied of these in the past week or so.
PEKA (women)/ KTP (men)
One of the batch of older venues in the league, and of course the age does show at the venue. Lot of fans will tell you about their visits to Karhuvuori and what memories they have of this place – but what about me as a photographer??
ARRIVAL/PARKING : 6.5/10 : Sounds harsh? There is space in the main car park and then the over flow on the gravel area – both get full very easily. But arriving early that is no problem – problem sometimes is that when I try to leave the game – if in a hurry or need to leave mid-game – it is near impossible to get the van out of the parking area. It is quite compact, so moving with a larger vehicle does take some patience and skill.. especially in the dark autumn evening when seeing the cars near you is challenging to say the least.
PHOTO POSITIONS : 7/10 : You really have the two baselines to work with, and even then your options are limited on where you can sit down. Usually all photographers get to the same corner for the first half .. well, about the only ‘good’ corner at the venue. Where you can get the action/crowd/etc in the frame. You can also sit on the bleachers with the crowd and they are friendly and always give you space .. or at least I have been given space. But you do feel pretty squeezed in this venue – so not much space to work with.. but on the bonus, no LEDs covering your line of sight.
LIGHTING FOR PHOTOGRAPHY : 7,5/10 : The average what one expects in Korisliiga venues, you don’t have to go crazy with your ISO, but also the light is flat as it is in most venues. But, should be happy that it is as good as this – as it definitely can be worse as well!
BACKGROUND FOR PHOTOS : 7/10 : Being positive here and giving it a seven, you can almost say you have three sides of stands here and on many occasions you do even have a decent amount of fans sitting on each section. Some deductions from a better score come due to the seating being a little high behind the benches, so it looks/feels like the crowd is not quite close enough (even if they are!) to the action for it to look great on the photos.
TOTAL : 28
TAMPEREEN PYRINTÖ (men/women)
The legendary Pyynikki – do I say legendary a little too much?? But maybe it just goes to show the age of the venues we have in the league as majority of them are legendary…
ARRIVAL/PARKING : 4,5/10 : Not quite sure if this or Kisahalli is worse – over here there is really no actual parking area as such, but you are using on street parking… which I surprisingly found out the rules change sometimes.. and thus I got a parking ticket on one f my recent visits. Also Pyynikki area is a nightmare for a bigger vehicle during the winter, and you should definitely NOT trust your sat-nav to get you out of here in mid-winter – I once almost got stuck on the small roads on the hill with my then mobile home .. So, sorry Pyrintö the parking is a challenge for me when arriving to your venue.
PHOTO POSITIONS : 6/10 : Being a little kind here on this rating, there are LEDs on three sides of the court, so your ‘on the floor’ sitting is VERY limited to few places. And I know – on international games we always shoot over LEDs .. so what am I complaining about!! But to compensate for this, there is a nice view from behind the stands from a higher vantage point.. so that is a bonus that not all venues offer. But the floor level is really restricted on the space, especially with the court side seating now under one basket. And also the one ‘good corner’ is by the big doors where the TV draw the cables in.. so sitting here in the winter will be cold and give your backside something beginning with an H 😉
LIGHTING FOR PHOTOGRAPHY : 6.5/10 : Yep, not that great – this is really where the age of the venue shows. The lights are some of the dimmest in the league, and combine this with the LED boards – you have a constantly changing White Balance and lighting during the game. So, yes it is a challenge – but when you hit the sweet spot on the player position and right LED on display.. the photos will look excellent !! But it is always a bit of a guessing game …
BACKGROUND FOR PHOTOGRAPHY : 6/10 : Seating on two sides, well – kind of three with the court side there, the stands are very high on one side and high on the other, and the one blank wall with the score board… not the most attractive feature of the venue. Would have liked to give this more, and I know that during the golden years of Pyrintö this place was rocking and have seen some superb old photos from here.. but for the 2020’s .. just not really there anymore.
TOTAL : 23
TAPIOLAN HONKA (men/women) :
Venue that is located right next to the home of Susijengi, but no – this is not quite the same. But for an old venue, well .. old in my eyes, it does work nicely and there is always a nice fresh smell of Korvapuusti or Pulla when you walk in the door here… bonus points for that!
ARRIVAL/PARKING : 7.5/10 : There is always space here, well almost always.. unless there is football match or for example a K-POP concert at the Metro Arena next door.. then arriving or leaving from the venue can take a rather long time and you might need to park some way a way from the venue. Also – the new speed bumps on the roads – who thought they are a good idea.. I need to drive like 2km/h so that the car won’t scrape the mudguards when I drive over them. So taking off quite a few points for the speed bumps and events at Metro-Arena here.
PHOTO POSITIONS : 8.5/10 : This is good, baseline to work on both sides, no LEDs, can have a slightly elevated position also .. yep – I think that really sums it up quickly. Good variety of places to shoot from!
LIGHTING FOR PHOTOGRAPHY : 7/10 : The lighting is pretty nice, I seem to remember it being re-newed few years ago so it looks much better on camera now. In mid-winter you also sometimes get sunbeams coming through the ceiling windows to create some beams you can chase with the camera when you have already gotten all the photos you need from the game and just want to get that ONE special frame! One of my pet hates – lights being switched off for time outs… AAAARRGH!!! Sorry… deduction of one point!
BACKGROUND FOR PHOTOS : 7/10 : Two sides of seating .. elevated ..but this season the seats have been nicely filled in the games I have visited. Also with being able to move so freely, you can get good shots of the benches in multiple angles. Extra bonus mention – which is not a given in our league! – is that when shooting from an elevated position.. there is only basketball lines on the court! But yes – crowd a bit high and behind a ‘fence’ .. so would love to have them a little lower and closer.. plus seating at the ends (although this would take away points from photo positions score!)
TOTAL : 30
SALON VILPAS (men)
For years dubbed as the ‘best venue in Korisliiga’ – now ‘among the best venues in Korisliiga’. How does this venue rate for a photographer??
ARRIVAL/PARKING : 8.5/10 : Plenty of space, parking Marshalls showing you to a free space, space enough for a big car, space enough for the sometimes 2000 fans who come to the games – but why just 8.5?? Winter … the road and pedestrian path can be quite lethal .. many a time seen people fall over in the slippery sections or grabbing on to trees to try to stay upright .. no amount of gritting seems to be enough over here. So – just because walking with the camera gear worth thousands .. and the icy paths.. I take some points off the perfect 10.
PHOTO POSITIONS : 10/10 : In this, Salohalli is just above any other venue in Finland. You have the whole baseline to use, you can get up on the stands to get the higher vantage point, you can install a camera on the catwalks for above the basket view, you can install a camera behind the backboard…. that’s all the reasoning I need to give as a photographer – just a perfect blend of every angle possible!
LIGHTING FOR PHOTOGRAPHY : 7/10 : You disappoint me here Salohalli, the lights themselves are OK – although sometimes you need to remind the staff to put full game lights on.. but what really bring down this score is the big screen at one end of the court. Now I am all for big screens and stuff like that – but when the screen is so bright and it reflects from the court.. that is where I draw the line. Sometimes when you have a bright white video playing at the screen – and you shoot from the other end.. the court behind the player comes to look like a blown out background…. really a shame as otherwise, and when a not so bright video plays.. the lighting would have been a 8.5 .. I know – we photographers are picky bunch!
BACKGROUND FOR PHOTOS : 9/10 : How can I give this a 9 .. when I’ve been saying that there needs to be crowd on four sides to give over an 8?? It is because of the option to use backboard or catwalk cameras – this takes the rating higher than it would normally do. Also, I do still remember the pre-COVID times when Salohalli was packed and seating brought to both ends on the floor level, so nostalgia gives in for an old man here. But on the court level shooting – the crowd is nice and close – so you get decent backgrounds, well probably the best in the league .. so the old lady of Korisliiga venues is still going strong!
TOTAL : 34.5
VIMPELIN VETO (women)
Now, I do have a soft spot for Vimpeli, so I hope to keep this realistic and not get my emotions get in the way of rating this venue fairly!
ARRIVAL/PARKING : 10/10 : Not quite Joensuu, but there is space here, even for a bigger car. You are right next to the venue, and even in snowy and icy conditions – the parking area is easy to walk through .. naaah, I will go and change it to 10 .. and not the 9.5 .. this is the closest I can park and there is always space.. I can’t ask for more!
PHOTO POSITIONS : 8/10 : Baselines – yours to roam and use, no LED’s and no adverts to spoil the spaces you have to choose from. There is no higher vantage point really, but you can try to get something different from behind the seating (must try that next time!)
LIGHTING FOR PHOTOGRAPHY : 7/10 : Not the worst by any means in the league, and for what the venue is… the lights are actually pretty OK. They are not going to give you a contrast that blows your mind away when you look at the photos on the screen. But there is light, it is constant (I am talking to you Salohalli!!!) so we photographers do appreciate that!
BACKROUND FOR PHOTOS : 6.5/10 : Maybe a .5 points higher here for the soft spot rating, but the stands are small and thus give a nice background when full. I know it is only on one side, so that sort reduces the score, but the background in my opinion is better than for example Kobrat – so it needs to be higher than the 6 I have given there. The other three sides – well, let’s not talk about them!
TOTAL : 31.5
FINAL RANKINGS (CAN BE UPDATED AS SEASON GOES ON!!) :
- 1 BC NOKIA / KARHUBASKET / SALON VILPAS – 34.5
- 4 KATAJA BASKET 34
- 5 HELSINKI BASKETBALL ACADEMY 33
- 6 VIMPELIN VETO 31.5
- 7 TAPIOLAN HONKA 30
- 8 BISONS / ESPOO BASKET TEAM 29
- 10 PEKA/KTP / KOUVOT/KOUVOTTARET / FORSSAN ALKU 28
- 13 KOBRAT / KORIHAIT 26.5
- 15 HELSINKI SEAGULLS / TOPO 23.5
- 16 TAMPEREEN PYRINTÖ 23
